Things that happened in the 90s work place that wouldn't happen now

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

Well it might have been just my very unprofessional one but anyway.
1.Smoking in the break room.No windows that opened and around and 6-8 people at a time smoking in a small room
2.Stripper.
Male stripper turned up to the office for a woman's birthday surprise.No music just him gyrating on her,there might have been a can of whipped cream involved.
3.No HR no nothing.Just a sadistic manager.

Anyone else have memories?

Bring on post duty (West End bank). I had a brain fart one afternoon and franked about 50 regular letters with top expensive whatever the postage was at the time.

Other than the smoking I loved office jobs in the 80s and 90s, everywhere I worked had a real sense of community, we worked hard but we had fun too.

I feel sorry for young people today who sit in their bedrooms on teams all day, that would have driven me insane

You could be sacked with no notice, no reason and no process followed
everyone smoked at their desks
most people got pissed on Friday lunchtime and came back to work
Everyone was shagging everyone, even the married ones
women wore skirts, trousers were frowned upon or controversial

it was grim, looking back

Working in a tea room as a washer upper then waitress. The owner used to rub himself up against everyone/massage you/pinch/grab and grope your bum. Only when his wife went upstairs though. I was 14/15 when I started I think. Cash in hand. A nightmare looking back.

Having to print slides onto ohp film and insert them into wallets to pop on the overhead projector and hoping you didn’t drop them all and lose the order

Agree 👍

Similar happened to me - everyone else on break, me and one guy. I was about to call a customer and he waited until I had picked the phone up, put his hands up my top and said “come on Ohno, you know you want it”. Ugh. I went to my female manager and she said “you have to expect that in the workplace”!!! Told a couple of colleagues and turns out he had done the same to them and Manager had done fuck all. Not exactly supporting women.

going back to the 1960 era when my mum fell pregnant, she was married, she had to leave her job straight away. this was not an office job a shop a bit like Co-op home stores selling curtains
if people who worked in a bank wanted to marry they had to ask their manager who could say yes or no
in 1970 era remember going to an employment office to get my sister who was 13 a working permit for a Saturday job in a bakery

Smoking everywhere. We all chain-smoked all day long in our office (my first job, around 1996) - had an ashtray on my desk, which was lovely 😆

I went into journalism in the late 90s. Long, boozy lunches and then back to the office half-cut to crack on with work - totally acceptable.

My first job, women were not allowed to wear trousers. Had to be a skirt and tights.

Men talking to your breasts and not you.

Smoking. Everywhere. Trains, pubs, offices, Tube etc

Inappropriate jokes and 'banter'

Drinks cabinet in the office which was opened at about 11.00 am everyday.

We had an older male colleague who wore baggy grey chinos. His nickname was ‘Elephant Bollocks’

I only had part time/summer jobs in the 90s but the main thing I remember is all the smoking! And having to clean ashtrays in one summer cafe job.
I remember considering buying a pack of cigarettes just for work in one of my jobs so I could have extra breaks with the smokers.

Smoking ban in place by my first proper job but I remember having to use actual phones, and printing everything to be signed by hand, and all the scanning, and all the paper clips

Early 90s, people would go into the job centre, select the job they most liked the look of-irrespective of relevant experience - and the staff would phone the company to ask for an interview!

Being sent to an adjoining office where Mr Titspervert(thanks Helen Fielding!) would pat you on the bum or worse. Returning to normal office and announcing this, the younger staff would be outraged and everyone else would go ‘oh, that’s just his way’ 😡

The naked conga!!
People sleeping there after a night out
Probable sex in the office ( see above)
Page 3 on the walls
Endles
misogyny

Sexual innuendo from opposite sex, personal remarks, appalling racism, prejudice against females who frequently earned less than men for the same job.

Oh just that everyone had to go past it and so it became second nature to pick up a glass most days!!

Liberal use of the phrase “while you’re down there”

I started in the CS in 1978 and it was all first names then, so not a universal thing at all.

One senior partner I worked for sent a younger worker home for wearing brown shoes with a dark suit.

A senior executive who would always manage to walk down a narrow corridor at the same time as the young female staff so he could accidentally rub up against you. We were warned when we started so we could be on guard. This was the head office of a charity.

Someone else told me of a head of accounting (different workplace same era) who would make the girls sit on his knee in “payment” for signing a cheque.

Pervs were roaming freely in the workplace. I often wonder how they manage to contain themselves these days.

I've really just worked in hospitals and used to do the odd temp thing in offices for a bit of experience. I remember doing a short temp job in my early 20's and the male manager asking me if I was planning on getting married or having kids as he didn't want the hassle of dealing with mat leave. I was early 20's and just on a short temp contract!

Lots of "while you're down there" comments. Both in office based temp jobs and in the hospital (from patients). Years back, I was in my late teens, working on a ward and a patient clicked his fingers at me. When I went over to him, he came out with some vile lewd stuff (I was shocked and so embarrassed). What I didn't realise was that Sister had seen/heard what he did. She was furious. gave him a massive dressing down in front of the whole ward and made him apologise to me. Now? I'd probably get hauled into the office and ask what I could have done differently to prevent that happening!

The abuse and assaults happened then, like now, but depending on the ward, you often had Sisters (like the one I mentioned) really backing you up and not putting up with nonsense like that.

Boozy pub lunch on a Friday, then going back to the office and (pretending to) work til 5.

Smoking room through a door in the canteen. With fumes wafting through every time the door was opened.

Emails could only be sent internally. A few managers in each department had special privileges to be able to send and receive outside of the company.

Fire stations had bars!!! (As in drinking alcohol ones). My friend had a birthday party at the fire station 🤣

Smoking

Drinking at lunch time... Looking at you, All Bar One. Buy two glasses, get the rest of the bottle free....

General banter